Lynae Vanee joins the podcast for this episode of Small Doses with Amanda Seales. The educator and social media star—twice nominated for the NAACP Image Awards’ Outstanding Social Media Personality and the 2023 winner of the CROWN Reel Impact Award—talks about launching Parking Lot Pimpin’ during the pandemic and what it was like to interview Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Evolution of Parking Lot Pimpin’
Parking Lot Pimpin’ was a product of the pandemic. Amid the fear and uncertainty of COVID-19 and the fight for Black lives, Vanee witnessed the outpouring of support from her community for Black voices to be heard, “and that’s how we got in the parking lot.”
Three years in, the former high school teacher has established herself as a platform for educating and reflecting on the pressing issues of the week. And, as promised in every intro, “I’ma keep it Black, but I’ma keep it brief.”
Armed with a psychology degree from Spelman College and a master’s in African American Studies, Vanee’s videos examine the issues we should care about. From the iconic Alabama Riverfront brawl to the bombshell (yet unsurprising) revelation that the movie The Blind Side was a sham—Vanee is serving the news in conversational shorts, casually sipping tea in a parking lot.
From Teacher to Creator
Vanee attributes her success to her teaching background. “My method of communicating was informed by what was successful in my classrooms and what wasn’t, working with kids from Atlanta that are too cool for school,” she says. “They’ll let you know if you’re wack, and I was able to refine that through teaching. So I think it very much feels the same.”
Just this year, Vanee has interviewed actress, writer and producer, Issa Rae, and Vice President Kamala Harris. “I wanted to try to humanize her (Harris). I wanted to give her some type of commonality with the people,” Vanee says.
2024 Election Loading…
As the 2024 presidential election draws near, Vanee’s goal is to use her platform to reach the “disenchanted” non-voters.
“The goal was to try to speak to those people who are just like, ‘I’m not gonna show up, I don’t want to vote,’” she explains. “Even though my goal is to tell stories, to have fun, I also have a responsibility … during a time like this in our national election, [to] continue to push out as much factual information as I can and see what sticks.”
Get the whole conversation. Listen to the full episode of “Small Doses: Side Effects of Parking Lot Pimpin.”
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